Zack Snyder's Justice League was a long time in the making, but you don't have to tell Fabian Wagner that. The cinematographer boarded the project back in the very beginning, while it was in development with director Zack Snyder. Wagner worked closely with Snyder to realize the filmmaker's signature vision for the DC super team, which has since found new life on Warner Bros.' HBO Max streaming service.
Speaking to CBR, Wagner broke down his role in Zack Snyder's Justice League and why he is overjoyed by the film's release. He recalled how Snyder consulted with him before filming his additional photography, although he was unable to fly out for it due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He discussed how the aspect ratio had been Synder's goal since the film's early stages, as well as how lifelike sets and a communicative VFX team helped ground his camera work. He also addressed the challenges of working on such a big project, how he prepared for slow motion shots and more.
CBR: Obviously, it's been quite a journey since production began on Justice League. Did you return for additional photography and, if so, what was that experience like for you?
Fabian Wagner: Unfortunately, I didn't. I couldn't attend the couple of days re-shoots later in 2020 because of COVID and everything else happening, because I'm in the UK right now. I couldn't get over to LA, and they were only shooting for a couple days. So it just didn't happen, unfortunately, but I spoke to Zack [Snyder] about it. We spoke before they were shooting. Yeah, I would have loved to have been there, and I would have been there in normal times, but unfortunately, right now, it wasn't possible.
This film has taken such a long time to come to fruition. How has that changed the way you look back on it now?
Well, I mean, there's so many aspects to that question. First of all, obviously, we must not forget why this has all happened and the reason for why this happened, which was a huge tragedy struck Zack's family. So, to me, that's something that's always constantly in the back of my mind, because obviously, that's something you don't want for anyone.
So, to now, after so many years, see the film that Zack had always talked about -- you know, I remember being in that first meeting with him, before he even offered the job, telling me about how this film was going to be. So to now, finally, see the film that I always knew that he wanted to make and that I always knew that we had shot, because we had shot all the things for it. I'm just super, super happy for him, that he can do that, because I think every filmmaker should have their vision respected.
Obviously, the film that we saw wasn't -- I'm not saying it was good or bad. I'm just saying that it wasn't the film that Zack had wanted to make. So I think it's great that he can make his vision come true.
One of the first things that stood out to me as I was watching the cut was that the aspect ratio had shifted from widescreen to a boxier, IMAX-like one. How did that impact your approach to this film?
From my very first meeting onward, Zack had mentioned that aspect ratio, that he would love to shoot it in large format. I've got to be very honest, in the very beginning, my first meeting, I was a bit like, "Oh!" I didn't expect it. But that was mainly because I just didn't expect it. I knew from Zack's prior movies, which he always shot in cinema scope, I kind of assumed that that would be what he wanted to do, but it was a very clear idea that he had and, as soon as he said it and started to talk about it, it made complete sense to me. So we shot the whole thing with that in mind, for the large format.
Between 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch and now Justice League, Zack Snyder is perhaps best known for his visual style. What was it like to work with a director whose style is so well known? How did that affect your own method?
Apart from being a cinematic visionary, he's also the nicest guy. He's just a super nice guy that you just want to hang out with and talk to and, on top of that, work with. So I think it's a dream for any [Director of Photography] -- I mean, it definitely was for me -- to work with him. It's something that I could have never imagined and so I loved every second of it. I can't even mention someone who's been more successful and who's nicer than Zack. He's just incredible. He knows what he wants. He has so many ideas obviously. On the other hand, he's equally as open to new ideas. He listened to every idea I had. That made the whole thing just such a joyful experience. And yeah, I hope that I was able to add a little bit of me.
As I was conducting some research, I noticed both you and Zack had something in common: you both got started with music videos. What did that experience help you bring to Justice League?
Music, in general, I think, helps me a lot to visualize things. So I always listen to music when I'm shooting all the different stuff. I used to love doing music videos. I haven't done one for a long time, unfortunately. But no, I don't think that it generally helped on this job in particular, not for me, apart from the fact that I just love music and always listen to it. I think it's more of a feeling, you know?
There were definitely a few scenes in this project that reminded me of a music video.
Funny enough, now that you said that, there was quite a few times when we were shooting a certain scene and Zack would really talk about the music and he would be like, "Okay, at this point, it comes in!"
With a film like Justice League, there's obviously a lot of CGI involved. How did that impact your approach?
It takes a bit of imagination! [laughs] It can get a bit much after five weeks on the green screen stage.
Look, I mean, I've kind of fallen into those kind of very visual effects-heavy films, which is great. I really enjoy doing that, but I equally as much enjoy shooting on location, in a real location. I've always enjoyed the challenge of shooting visual effects. On this movie, we had some great sets built by Patrick Tatopoulos, really great set pieces.
Obviously, we did have a lot of green screen extensions and green screens around it, but the sets themselves were incredible, like incredibly detailed, and really beautiful places to light, so you could really create. It was easy to create a real atmosphere and then, in collaboration with Jean Marchand and the visual effects team, who were also great, and it was such a joy working with them.
We really just constantly talked about it, constantly talked about how this will look like, how this looks now in the light, how we can integrate the visual effects later. I think that's the way you create a good-looking visual effects movie, is by all of that.
How do you prepare for a slow motion shot? What does that require that a typical shot does not?
Well, it just changes, finally, technically, because it's a lighting thing. So the slower you shoot or pass and shoot, the more the slow motion gets, the more light you need. So you just need to have to think about that and you have to know that, if I'm shooting 25 frames right now, and then Zack is going to be like, "I want to go 500 frames," you just need to know that, okay, that's going to happen, and you're going to need to put more lighting. You have to have to have that ready.
So that's very easy to do. That was one of the things I was looking forward to was, always having been a fan of Zack's visual work, that was one of the things that I was really looking forward to. So you just need to know it's gonna happen and you prepare for it.
What is something that challenged you during this particular project?
Every single day was challenging, to work with Zack, in a positive way, but also, I had never done a project of that scale before. I've done some big things before, but nothing of the size of Justice League. So all of that was a challenge, but then, I love challenges. Like I said, doing it with Zack just made it feel fun.
Can you tease something you're excited for fans to see in Zack Snyder's Justice League?
I can say that it's just exciting to actually see the film that Zack had always wanted to make. I think that's something that we've all been waiting for. I think it's amazing that, with the help of the fans and this amazing fan base, we're actually getting it. Never happened before in history!
Recently, you've been attached to projects like Game of Thrones and Overlord and some other science fiction/fantasy projects. Is there something about the genre that draws you to it, or is that merely coincidence?
I just fall into it! [laughs] I do like the visual -- you know, the freedom that you have, from a lighting perspective and framing perspective that that genre offers you. I do love that: the things that you can do within those.
What do you hope fans take away from this film?
I think just respect every filmmaker's vision. Don't change it. Just let everyone make their movie the way they want to make it.
Zack Snyder's Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film arrives is now available on HBO Max.
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